


Tom

by Ciezuru



Category: Keyakizaka46 (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 11:57:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13523772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ciezuru/pseuds/Ciezuru
Summary: Co-owning a cat? With your crush? It's more likely than you think!





	Tom

The moon’s light and the glittering night sky were the only things that were accompanying one Moriya Akane on her trek home.

She groaned pitifully as a gust of cold wind blew past her, making her bury her hands deeper into her coat pockets and her pink-tinged cheeks deeper into her scarf.

She had just finished her shift as a part-time worker at a juice bar at her University campus but before that she had ran for 15 minutes straight in the cold from her condominium to her morning class because her phone had ended up underneath her pillow and her alarm wasn’t heard.

Pretty crappy day she would say.

Sometimes she regrets taking on the part-time job but every morning before class, sitting in front of her floor-length mirror and taking a look at how fabulous and flawless her skin is made her think otherwise.

You see, beauty comes with a price.

A very hefty price.

Sure, her family’s pretty well-off and her parents give her a handsome amount of money every month but all that goes to her basic necessities. Food, bills and not to mention the lavish condominium she’s currently living in.

The cosmetics that she buys cost her almost half of her allowance and after eating nothing but stale cereal and instant ramen for 2 weeks she decided certain sacrifices had to be made and decided to get a part-time job to support her current lifestyle, although it almost always clashed with her class schedule, the feeling of entering Sephora with a fat wallet full of cash easily melts her troubles away.

Nobody said beauty was painless.

Stepping inside the warm interior of the lobby of her condominium made her sigh in bliss, the perks of spending on a condominium instead of a rundown apartment.

The thought of a scalding hot shower and a cup of hot tea made her quicken her steps to the elevator, bidding the receptionist a friendly wave, she got inside the elevator and rapidly pushed the close button unaware of a figure stumbling and rushing towards her.

“Wait, hold the door!”

A feminine voice piped up beyond the closing elevator doors and she quickly pushed the open button revealing a harried and out of breath girl.

A beautiful one she might add.

“Thank you”

Said girl gasped out her thanks and got inside, leaning exhaustedly against the wall she gave Akane a bright smile which in turn made Akane blush.

“Sure, which floor?”

“The 10th floor please”

Akane nodded and turned around facing towards the door. An awkward silence filled the elevator as both girls waited to reach their floor. She was startled out of the silence when she heard the girl behind her clear her throat.

“So which floor do you live in?”

“The 12th, house number 8”

“Oh! You live on top of my house then. Mine’s on the 11th, house number 8 too”

“Eh? I’ve never seen you around here before?”

“Ahaha I just moved in here a couple of days ago, I just finished shopping for groceries”

The girl grinned brightly and held up an arm full of plastic bags, showing it to Akane who smiled and held up a hand.

“I see, I’m Akane by the way. Moriya Akane”

“Yuuka. Sugai Yuuka, it’s nice to meet you”

They shook hands and Akane could’ve sworn she felt a spark pass between them and held on to the other’s hand far longer than necessary. She was drawn to Yuuka’s eyes, they were deep and beautiful and oh so mesmerizing and from their close proximity she could smell the sweet floral scent of the other girl’s perfume. Both girls were stuck in some sort of trance until the elevator ding-ed, prompting both girls to release the handshake. They both laughed embarrassedly.

“Well, I guess this is my stop then. I’ll see you around?”

Yuuka bashfully tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled shyly at the other girl.

“Yes, it was nice to meet you”

Akane returned the smile, feeling an unknown sadness at having to go their separate ways. Yuuka nodded and got out of the elevator. Another minute passed and soon Akane had reached her floor. Lost in thought, she reached the front of her door and slapped her forehead exasperatedly.

“Stupid Akane, I should have asked for her phone number!”

She unlocked her front door and closed it behind her and leaned against it, reviewing the past event.

“Well at least I know she’s living nearby, maybe we’ll bump into each other again…hopefully”

 

* * *

 

A week later and no Sugai Yuuka in sight.

She sighed loudly for the umpteenth time. It was a slow day at the juice bar so she was free to mope around wondering where the girl could have disappeared to. They live in the same building for heaven’s sake!

“Would you stop that, you look like a girl who just failed at one of those idol auditions”

Oda Nana or Dani for short, her friend who also works at the juice bar came up to her and poked at her forehead with her finger.

“Excuse you, I’d totally win if I went to those auditions. I mean have you seen all of this?”

She gestured from her face and down her body.

“This is top notch idol quality, I just chose not to go because who else would work with you in this dump?”

Having been used to her friend’s endless promoting of her looks, Dani could only roll her eyes in exasperation.

“First, rude. Second, this “dump” is what’s paying for your shopping sprees at Sephora in the first place. Third, you wouldn’t even be able to pass through the door to the audition hall with that inflated head of yours anyway”

Dani caught the apple thrown her way, bit into it and grinned at her scowling friend.

“So what’s up with you anyway, you’re not normally this mopey”

“There’s this cute girl I met in the elevator last week”

“Uh-huh?”

“I don’t know Dani, I mean…there’s just something about her that attracted me”

“Uh-huh ok”

“She was tall and pretty and her eyes! They were so so pretty. I wonder what kind of foundation she wears…”

“O-kay, so why don’t you ask her out?”

“Ugh! That’s the thing! I forgot to ask for her phone number, and I waited around to see if we would bump into each other again and she just…disappears! Poof! Without a trace!"

“Are you sure she wasn’t just a figment of your sleep-deprived imagination?”

A swat to the shoulder.

“Ok ok sheesh! It’s your fault you know, for not asking for her number. You should take me as an example, I see what I like and I’ll grab every chance I get and never let go. I now have Yuipon’s phone number”

Dani puffed out her chest smugly much to the chagrin of Akane.

“Like a rabid dog you mean? Hmm if I recalled correctly, you have Yuipon’s phone number because you overheard her conversation while stalking her”

“Hey I’m not one for passing up opportunities. I always say, “To hell with circumstances, I create opportunities!”

“You got that from a fortune cookie”

“Pftt! To-May-to, To-Mah-to. It’s the same thing”

Akane shook her head, snorting at her ridiculous friend and looked up at the wall clock.

“Huh, my shift’s done”

“Aww and I was just getting to the good part too”

“Pfft sure”

She laughed at Dani and packed her things, feeling lighter after unloading her problem on her friend. She left the store in good spirit, humming a merry tune to herself whilst walking towards her condominium and into the elevator, keeping an eye out for any sign of her elusive neighbor.

No luck.

She sighed to herself and took out her keys and unlocked the door. Not even bothering to switch on the lights, she dumped her purse on the sofa and noticed a slight chill in the room.

Huh. Weird.

She could have sworn she had closed the window before she went out.

Well whatever.

She went to the kitchen and opened her fridge, grabbing a bottle of soda and proceeded back into the living room.

Squelch!

“What...?”

Lifting up her foot she noticed that she had stepped on a piece of soggy bread.

She limped quickly all the while muttering disgustedly to the light switch and with the house illuminated she saw her forgotten tuna sandwich or what’s left of it on the table. The bread on top was the one she had stepped on but curiously the tuna filling had completely disappeared. As if it had been licked off.

_What the hell._

“Huh, to think that there are rats in a nice condo like this. I’ll have to report to the building manager first thing in the morning.”

Again, limping to her bathroom, she took a hot shower and got ready for bed. She lay on her bed with a green beauty face mask on and was lulled to sleep with thoughts of a certain raven-haired elusive goddess.

 

* * *

 

“I never knew you had a cat?”

Akane was startled out of the lecture by her friend Nijika Ishimori who sat next to her picking at the loose hair covering the sweater that she was wearing.

“Eh?”

“Your sweater, it’s covered in cat hair”

She took her eyes off the lecturer and inspected her sweater and to her horror, it really was covered in fur!

“How do you know its cat hair?”

Nijika gave her a blank look.

“Must you really ask?”

Akane grinned sheepishly, Nijika was well known in their circle of friends to be quite the animal lover and questioning her judgment on what type of fur it was when she was obviously an expert on was terribly insulting.

But back to the issue at hand.

It might not be a pest problem at all then.

She might have herself a “cat” burglar on her hands. Stealing her tuna sandwich and probably rubbing its fur on her sweater to claim ownership on it. First, an elusive neighbor and now an elusive “cat” burglar?

Whatever it is, she’ll just have to deal with it later. If she doesn’t focus on the lecture right now, her CGPA will sink faster than the titanic did.

 

* * *

 

“Here kitty kitty kitty”

The door to her house creaked slowly as Akane creeped inside, keeping an eye out on any cats lurking about. She searched high and low for the furry intruder but to no luck. Last night, she had left her window open just like the first night but then she noticed that her window lock was actually broken and someone or a cat could easily nudge its way through. That explained how a cat could sneak into her apartment.

“Huh, maybe if I set up some bait it’ll come out”

An open can of tuna set up on her dining table.

“There, that should do it.”

With her trap set up, she decided to get started on her daily skincare routine while waiting. A half an hour later.

*rustle rustle*

While busily dabbing on some facial moisturizer she heard something in the kitchen.

Did her trap work?

Cautiously peering out of her room, she tip-toed her way towards the kitchen and lo and behold, a cat was currently stuffing its face inside the tuna can.

“A-ha! Stop right there thief!”

Switching on the lights revealed an orange and white cat, fat and with whiskers covered in flecks of tuna. Its eyes were round and wide as it looked at her cautiously as she approached the startled cat.

“Hey it’s ok, I’m not going to hurt you”

Akane cooed as she neared the cat and held a hand out for it to sniff. It sniffed the outstretched hand and nudged its head against it deeming her to be safe and friendly.

“Huh, pretty tame for a stray…oh what’s this?”

The cat had a collar on.

“Darn, no name and owner’s address. Poor guy, you must be lost and hungry huh?”

“Meow”

“Your owner must be worried sick!”

She lifted the cat up and into her arms, marveling at its soft and clean fur. It must have recently gotten lost judging by the state of its fur, still clean. The cat squirmed out of her hold and landed on the table, eager to get back to its meal.

“Greedy cat aren’t you?”

Akane chuckled and sat at the table waiting for the cat to finish its meal and after it was done, it sat on its haunches and contently licked its paw and face. She grinned while observing the cat, she had always wanted a cat when she was a kid but her father’s allergies prevented her from having one. Reaching out, she gently scratched under the cat’s chin earning her a throaty purr.

“Well I can’t just let you back out in the cold can I? That would be cruel of me”

“Meow”

“It’s getting late, why don’t you come and sleep with me? I’ll figure out what to do with you in the morning”

She gently picked up the cat and brought it with her to the bedroom, setting it down beside her on the bed. Instantly the cat snuggled on top of the covers as if it was already used to the routine.

Definitely someone’s cat.

Akane got under the covers and gave the cat a final scratch behind its ears, all thoughts of a certain elusive neighbor forgotten.

The next morning, Akane woke with a stretch and reached out with her eyes closed besides her searching for the cat. Brow knitting in frustration from not finding the cat, she opened her eyes to see the cat missing from her side. She woke up instantly and shot up from the bed, searching the cat around the house but to no avail.

“First the neighbor, then the cat. I really am just unlucky”

Disappointed, she dragged her feet towards the bathroom and got ready for class all the while wallowing in self-pity.

 

* * *

 

“A cat? I never knew you liked animals?”

“You never asked”

“Huh you got me there, anyways what’s with you and losing people and cats overnight huh?”

“Like I’m supposed to know”

Dani looked sympathetically at her sad friend.

“Hey cheer up, I’ll treat you dinner on the way home”

Instantly perking up at the thought of free food, Akane beamed at her friend and made preparations to close the shop.

After closing, the two friends headed to a nearby diner and ate their dinner and soon after bid farewell to each other. She entered her house and sat down on her sofa with a weary sigh, craning her neck from side to side to get rid of the crick in her neck.

“Meow!”

“What the…!”

Startled out of her reverie she peered down and saw the cat from yesterday looking back up at her.

“You!”

“Meow!”

“Where have you been?! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Meow!”

“As if you’d answer me huh?”

“Meow…meooww”

Akane got up and the cat immediately twined anxiously between her legs meowing loudly, clearly demanding something.

“What is it? What do you want?”

The cat immediately ran to the kitchen urging her to follow it. It jumped on top of her kitchen cabinet and reached up with its front legs towards the top shelf.

“Huh? What’s up there?”

“Meow!”

Looking up at her top shelf, she saw the unopened cans of tuna that she has stocked up and everything clicked.

“Tuna? You want the tuna?”

“Meow”

“Ahh right, you must be hungry”

She reached up for a can and went to open it, pouring half of it onto a small plate and handed it to the cat. It instantly dove right in, greedily lapping at the tuna within seconds and meow-ed for more.

“Wow no wonder you’re fat”

Pouring what’s left of the tuna onto the plate, Akane sat and observed the cat finishing its food. After it finished, it came over towards her and bumped its head against her hand as if to say thanks.

“I’m starting to think you’re using me for the tuna”

“Meow”

Akane glared playfully at the cat but she couldn’t stay angry at it after it flopped down onto its back and meow-ed for a belly rub.

“Darn you and your deceptively cute ways”

She giggled and rubbed the cat’s belly and carried it to her bedroom, setting it on top of her bed. It sat there licking its paw and face while observing Akane go on with her nightly skincare routine. Finished with her routine, she got under the covers and patted the spot next to her to which the cat eagerly went and snuggled into.

Waking up the next morning and with no cat in sight, Akane deduced that the cat probably treated her house as a temporary shelter at night and went out in the morning to do god-knows-what cats do.

Well, that’s fine by her.

At least she knows the cat has a safe place to live at night even if he’s depleting her tuna reserves.

And this went on for about a week or so, he comes by at night for tuna then leaves in the morning before she wakes up.

She kind of felt like being in a one-night stand or in this case multiple one-night stands.

And throughout the week, no Sugai yuuka in sight.

Although that’s about to change _soon._

 

* * *

 

“There you go, this is the last can of tuna. I‘ll have to go buy some more tomorrow”

“Meow”

“You know you might want to ease up a bit on the tuna, you’re getting a bit too chunky on the sides”

“Meow”

“You’re right, you’re cute as it is”

She giggled and rubbed the cat’s head. After the cat finished its meal, not feeling too sleepy yet she decided to just lay back and watch a bit of television with him snuggled on her lap.

_*knock knock*_

“Who could that be at this hour?”

Akane got up and set the cat to the side, petting its head after it meow-ed irritably at having its human heater move away. She peered into the peephole and let out a loud gasp, heart lodged in her throat.

Outside the door stood the one and only elusive Sugai Yuuka!

“Ok keep it cool Moriya, you got this”

Mentally prepping herself she took a deep breath and opened the door startling the skittish girl outside.

“H-hi! Long time no see neighbor”

Akane leaned against the door frame feigning nonchalance.

“H-hi, yes it really has been a long time hasn’t it? I was wondering if...”

“Meow!”

There innocently sitting on its haunches next to Akane’s legs was the cat.

“Tom! I knew it!”

“Eh? Tom?”

Yuuka bent down to retrieve the cat and pushed herself and Akane into the house, closing the door behind her.

“Well I’d normally ask people to buy me a drink first before I invite them in but in your case I’ll make an exception”

“Sorry, I didn’t want anyone to see us or more importantly Tom here”

“Tom? That’s your name?”

“Meow”

“I was curious as to where he went off to at night and followed him, turns out every night he comes over to your place”

“Ohhh…so you’re his owner then?”

“Yes, and I think I know why he likes coming here”

Yuuka pointed towards the empty tuna can on top of her kitchen table and sent a disapproving glare at Tom.

“He was supposed to be on diet, I was wondering why he was still overweight and now I know why.

*gasp* “So you really were using me weren’t you?”

“Meow”

Yuuka chuckled at Akane who was playfully glaring and scolding Tom in her arms. She blushed at their close proximity and hid half of her face behind Tom.

“Hey if you wouldn’t mind me asking, how come I rarely see you around anymore?”

“Oh that, I have night classes and I belong in the Equestrian club at the University so every evening I’ll go horseback riding so I kind of stay inside the house in the morning”

“Ohhhh and I have morning classes and a part-time job in the evening and stay inside my house at night. Our schedules kind of clashes huh?”

“Yeah annnddd…the building kind of doesn’t allow animals inside so yeah, I have to stay inside to accompany this fat cat of mine”

“Hey its fine, at least he keeps me company at night”

“Ah! Thank you for that! I hope he wasn’t a bother”

“Oh no no, he’s an angel well except for the fact he went through my entire supply of Tuna in less than a week that is”

“Oh no! I’m so sorry! Please let me pay for the expanses”

“Well… how about you treat me to dinner and maybe exchange phone numbers as well? I figured at this rate, we’re already co-owning Tom now so we might as well keep in touch?”

Damn Moriya, that was _smooth._

“I’d like that, after we met I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Is that weird?”

“No, that’s not weird at all because I couldn’t stop thinking about you too”

Their faces and bodies inched closer, eyes closed, lips quivering in anticipation moving in for a kiss when a loud meow interrupted them.

“Meow!”

“Oh I’m sorry Tom!”

Tom was caught in the crossfire, squashed between Yuuka and Akane and had let out a disgruntled meow to his owner.

Owners?

Owners.

Yuuka cleared her throat and blushed at Akane’s tinkling laughter, falling more and more for her neighbor. Steeling up her courage she began to ask her.

“Are you free tomorrow night?”

“Uhm yeah, why?”

“Let’s go to dinner, my treat”

“You mean like a date?”

“Yes, a date”

“Sure! I mean yeah I’m totally down for a date”

“Great, I’ll pick you up at 8?”

“Sounds good”

Out of impulse, Yuuka darted in and left a chaste kiss on Akane’s cheek.

“That was for taking good care of Tom while I was away”

And with that Yuuka hurried out of the door blushing profusely with Tom in her arms, jogging back to her house.

Akane stood dumbstruck, slowly placing her hand on the kissed cheek.

“I’m never washing this cheek ever again. I’ll buy Tom a year’s worth of tuna to thank him”

 

* * *

 

Akane stood nervously In front of her floor-length mirror. She’d never been this nervous for a date before. She spent the last hour applying and re-applying her makeup, usually she was confident of her looks and all of her dates would compliment her and she’d preen at all the attention.

But tonight.

Tonight, feels different.

She can _feel_ it.

She was startled out of her thoughts by the doorbell.

This is it.

She braced herself and opened the door and her breath was instantly taken away. There stood Sugai Yuuka in all her glory.

“Hi”

“H-hi”

They stood there eyeing each other in disbelief, was this actually happening?

“U-um sorry, come in! I’m almost done”

She guided Yuuka inside and towards the sofa, dashing towards the bedroom to retrieve her coat and clutch.

“Ready to go?”

“Yes”

They got into the elevator and walked towards their destination. It wasn’t far, just a few blocks away.

Akane shivered, Yuuka being a good date held out her arm encouraging Akane to loop her arm with hers, snuggling close to each other. She blushed and ducked her head at Yuuka’s gentlewoman gesture.

They had a wonderful time at the fancy restaurant that Yuuka had reserved. Talking about themselves, their work, studies, Tom and Akane discovered that Yuuka came from a very well-known family nevertheless that was not why she was attracted to her. She was sweet and polite and listened to her intently which never happened with her other dates before. They all wanted to go out with her because they wanted a trophy girlfriend on their arms to boast about to their friends.

But Yuuka.

Yuuka.

She’s _different._

And so with the date coming to an end, they once again stood in front of Akane’s doorway.

“I had a really fun time tonight”

Akane bit her lip and shyly peered at Yuuka through her lashes.

“Me too, I very much hope that this isn’t the end? I mean, I’d really like to continue this”

“Well we do co-own Tom now”

Yuuka giggled and blushed.

“That we do, I’ll have to thank him. Somehow he led me to you and I know he hates me for it but putting him on that diet was a great idea after all…ah!”

She took out a business card and handed it over to Akane.

“My number, if you know, you wanted to go out sometime again?”

Akane smiled softly and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to Yuuka’s lips. She closed her eyes and basked in the moment. They kissed for what felt like an eternity before Akane leaned away, their lips sticking briefly from the lip balm they applied.

“I’d like that very much. Goodnight Yuuka”

“Goodnight Akane”

Closing the door, Akane couldn’t help but squeal out loud, she just went out on a date, actually enjoyed it and her date was not a douchebag and there might be a continuation of it! Oh if Tom were here right now, she’d shower him with all the tuna he can eat!

Still feeling giddy from the date, she went through her nightly skincare routine and got ready for bed but before that she sent out a message to Yuuka and ended it with a kiss to the screen.

“I really had fun today. Give Tom a kiss for me. Goodnight <3”

For the first time in weeks, she had a good night’s sleep.

 

* * *

 

Akane hummed a merry tune to herself as she went down to Yuuka’s house for a visit. They’ve been steadily seeing each other for the past week and with every meeting she was falling more and more in love with her and of course Tom too.

However, she stopped short after seeing the building manager talking to Yuuka in front of her door. He almost looked angry while Yuuka looked apologetic.

She quickened her steps towards them, worried about her…girlfriend? She’ll figure it out later but right now she needs her.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ve received complaints from the other tenants that Miss Sugai is harboring a feline guest”

_Shit. Tom._

“Ano..wait-“

“And as per the rules of this establishment, pets of any kind are not allowed and any tenant that harbors one will be evicted immediately”

“Ehh! You can’t be serious?!”

“I treat rule-breaking as a serious matter Miss Moriya”

“B-but…!”

“No buts Miss Sugai, you are given 3 days to clear ou-“

“He’s mine”

“Pardon?”

“Eh?”

“The cat, he’s mine. Yuuka was just cat-sitting him. I apologize”

“Well in that case you will be the one to be evicted then, my apologies Miss Sugai”

“Wait! I-“

“3 days Miss Moriya, goodbye”

The building manager bid them both farewell and went on his way. Yuuka stood at her doorway gaping like a fish while Tom twined anxiously around their ankles, meowing pitifully.

“It’s ok Yuuka, I was searching for a new apartment anyway, I’ll bring Tom with me and you can visit us anytime”

Akane smiled sadly, firm in her decision to save Yuuka from being evicted even at the cost of her own home. She can afford to lose her house but she can’t afford to lose Sugai Yuuka again.

“I’ll go and clear out my stuff, want to help me Tom?”

“Meow”

She turned to leave but was stopped when a hand grabbed onto her arm. Turning around she saw Yuuka giving her a soft smile.

“Thank you but why don’t you help me clear my stuff out first?”

“Eh?”

“Let’s find a house and move in together, one where we can live with Tom”

“Yuuka…”

“Moriya Akane, will you do me the favor of becoming by girlfriend?”

Akane stood shell-shocked, her cheeks reddened from the confession and her heart was lodged in her throat while Yuuka stood nervously in front of her wondering if her sudden confession was too soon.

“Idiot, of course I’d say yes!”

She rushed towards her in joy, ready to kiss that beautiful joyful smile off her face and accidentally stepped on Tom’s tail earning her a painful yowl from the cat. Both of his owners bent down and apologized profusely at Tom, babying him and scratching his ear and chin to soothe the pain away. They both laughed afterwards at their predicament and Akane leaned in to kiss Yuuka to which she happily returned.

Thanks to Tom even if it was at the expanse of Akane’s entire tuna stock, they both have a chance at a happily ever after all.


End file.
